Dunluce Castle is simply spectacular. Not only is this precariously perched ruin picturesque, it's the most romantic of the Irish castles. What's more, Dunluce Castle boasts a colorful past. It sits on a headland that drops straight to the sea. It's washed on three sides by foaming seas. Richard Óg de Burgh, the 2nd Earl of Ulster, built the first castle on this site in the 13th century. The MacQuillans erected the drum towers in the late 14th century. Sorley Boy MacDonnell, of the Scottish clan Donald, took possession of the castle when he claimed lordship of the territory in the mid-16th century. The strong fort, from the Irish Dún Lios, was the site of various struggles. The English besieged the castle in 1584. The Irish army burned the surrounding village in their failed attempt to unseat the McDonnells in 1641.