Moyry Castle -The Gap of the North

The Gap of the North or Moyry Pass is a geographical feature on the border between Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is a mountain pass running along Slieve Gullion between Newry and Dundalk.

The pass was of historical military importance as it controlled the route between Ulster and the Pale stretching from Dublin to County Louth. A number of battles were fought in or around the pass including the battle of Moyry Pass when Lord Mountjoy, Viceroy of Ireland, was defeated.
When Hugh O'Neill had retreated to Ulster, Lord Mountjoy in 1601 finding the Pass undefended, built Moyry Castle in twenty days.
The building of Moyry Castle changed Ulster, the most Gaelic province of Ireland in the following eight years. In 1603 Hugh O'Neill surrendered to Queen Elizabeth under the Treaty of Mellifont and in 1607 led the Flight of the Earls from Lough Swilly.
King James in 1603 suppressed Brehon Law and introduced English Common Law and 1609 was the Plantation of Ulster.