Overview
Harry Avery’s Castle is unusual for one simple reason: a Gaelic Irish chief built it in stone. In the 14th century most Irish lords still built in timber and earth, so a native stone castle is rare, and this one borrows the look of its Anglo-Norman rivals – twin D-shaped towers fronting what appears to be a grand gatehouse. The twist is that it isn’t a gatehouse at all; behind that façade sits a plain two-storey tower house. An Irish chieftain copying the architecture of the people he was fighting is the whole interest of the place.
Be clear about what’s left, though: two towers and the footings of a curtain wall, standing in a working cattle field above Newtownstewart, with no car park, no toilets and no one on duty. It’s a 20- to 30-minute stop and a short field walk, not a day out. Come for the architecture and the long view down the River Derg valley to the Sperrins – and for the quiet, because you’ll usually have it to yourself.
History
The castle is thought to have been built around 1320 by a local chieftain of the O’Neill clan – though its origins are genuinely uncertain, and some accounts place it later in the century. It is named after Henry Aimhréidh O’Neill, anglicised as ‘Harry Avery’, who died in 1392; whether he built it or simply lent it his name isn’t settled. The Annals of the Four Masters record his death on the feast of St Brendan and remember him for his justice, nobility and hospitality – a better epitaph than most chieftains got.
The castle commanded a strategic spot above the River Derg. The O’Neill lordship of Tyrone collapsed in 1607 with the Flight of the Earls, and the site is said to have endured sieges before passing to the English around 1609. In the centuries after, local builders quarried the walls for stone, which is why so little survives. The remains are now a State Care Monument, looked after by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
The architecture
The standing ruin is a two-storey rectangular block with the two massive D-shaped towers added across its front. A door between the towers led into a vaulted basement; above it was the first-floor hall, reached from the courtyard behind. The detail rewards a slow look:
- A spiral stair in the southern tower linked the two floors, and each tower held a small first-floor room lit by a single window in its round wall.
- Traces of a mural stair and a latrine chute running upward suggest there was at least a parapet on a second floor.
- A draw-bar slot beside the main door shows how it was barred from inside.
- Behind the towers, a raised mound forms the courtyard, once ringed by a curtain wall – only its foundations remain – and filled with timber kitchens and stables that have left no trace.
A 1950 excavation showed the castle was built in a single phase, not bolted onto an older gatehouse, and scholars have linked its design to other native D-towered castles like Elagh in Inishowen and Seafin in County Down, with the Norman inspiration coming from the likes of Carrickfergus and Castle Roche.
Visiting
This is the honest part. There’s no formal parking on the narrow road below the castle – you pull onto the grass verge or a roadside lay-by, and spaces are few. From there it’s about a 10-minute walk across a farm field on an uneven, slightly uphill grassy path, which rules it out for wheelchairs and pushchairs. The field is grazed: keep dogs on a lead, leave the livestock alone, and shut every gate behind you. More than one visitor has turned back at a field full of cows, so it’s worth a look over the gate before you commit.
- Bring: sturdy boots, a waterproof and water – the hill is fully exposed and there are no facilities of any kind.
- When: spring to autumn for firmer ground and clearer views; late afternoon light suits the towers and the valley for photographs.
- How long: half an hour is plenty to walk round, step into the basement and take in the view.
Nearby
- Newtownstewart Castle – a ruined 17th-century plantation house in the town itself, under a mile away.
- Bessy Bell – the Sperrin hill (420m) that rises above Newtownstewart, with a forest road towards the top.
- Gortin Glen Forest Park – walking and mountain-bike trails and a five-mile forest drive, about 15 minutes south.
- Ulster American Folk Park – the open-air emigration museum near Omagh, a short drive away.
Park considerately, close the gates, and give yourself the late-afternoon hour: the low sun across the Derg valley is the reason to make the climb.