Carrickfergus, on the shore of Belfast Lough, was a nucleus of English power in Ireland from the times of the Normans. As a fortress town and an ecclesiastical centre it dominated the region when neighbouring Belfast was no more than a village. The castle was at the centre of repeated battles and sieges as the English, the Scots and the Gaels fought for dominance; and for centuries many of the town's more prominent visitors continued to arrive with fighting or plunder in mind, from King John and Robert the Bruce to the Earl of Essex, General Monck and William III. Now the troubles of the past have receded into history and in the twenty-first century Carrickfergus has become a vigorous and thriving tourist destination.