Since records began Dunure has been associated with the Kennedy family. The name is derived from old Gaelic cinneidigh meaning, rather unflatteringly, ugly head. It is believed that at some point after the kingdom of Dalriata was founded in the west of Scotland at the end of the 5th century AD, the Kennedys settled in the Carrick area of Ayrshire, which includes Dunure*. Whether there was an existing settlement on Dunure’s rocky cliffs, which was then occupied by the Kennedys at this time, is unclear. Certainly in the 12th century it was Duncan Kennedy who was named the first Earl of Carrick and a century later his progenitors occupied a fort on the site. The 13th century construction is the oldest remaining part of the keep, the rest of the structure being completed in the 15th and 16th centuries. The oldest part of the building bore witness to the capture of a number of Viking warriors who in 1263, having been defeated at Largs, took refuge at Dunure.
The Kennedys of Dunure strengthened their position by opting to support King Robert I (the Bruce) in the dynastic conflict of the 14th century and in the Wars of Independence. As eventual victor in these conflicts he and his lineage would show favour to his supporters. John Kennedy of Dunure was granted the lands of Cassillis in 1360. His witnessing of a charter of Robert II in 1386 confirmed his status as leader of perhaps the most powerful family in south west Scotland.
Like most medieval forts Dunure Castle has been the site of a number of grisly incidents. In 1429 it was chosen by James I as a neutral venue for negotiations between his envoy, James Campbell, and the branch of the clan MacDonald represented by John Mor MacDonald. Negotiations ended in violence when John Mor was murdered. Distancing himself from the killing, James I later had Campbell executed. However, by far the most notorious character in Dunure’s history is Gilbert, 4th Earl of Cassillis. Not long after accommodating Mary Queen of Scots on her journey to Glenluce Abbey in Galloway in 1563, Gilbert stole the abbey’s lands using a monk to forge a signature on a land charter. To cover his tracks he later had the monk killed. The ultimate testament to his greed occurred in 1565 when he kidnapped Alan Stewart, the Commendator of the nearby Crossraguel Abbey, and roasted him alive on a spit in Dunure Castle’s Black Vault in an attempt to force him to sign away the abbey’s lands. Luckily a force led by Lord Barbany arrived just in time to rescue the blackened and blistered Commendator.
At the end of the 18th century the remodelling of Culzean Castle, another seat of the Kennedys, about 5 miles south of Dunure, coincided with the abandonment of the old fort. Without a castle to supply the settlement, Dunure largely disappeared. Instead of refurbishing Dunure Castle the 10th Earl of Cassillis commissioned the most famous architect of his day, Robert Adam, to develop Culzean Castle, one of the finest Georgian buildings in Scotland. When the Kennedy family donated the castle to historic Scotland in 1945, they insisted that the top floor be given to General Eisenhower to thank him for his efforts during the war. Eisenhower came to regard Culzean as his second Whitehouse. (It was from here that Eisenhower used to observe the phenomenon of the Electric Brae where cars appear to roll uphill!) Today the Eisenhower apartment is an exclusive hotel while the rest of the castle and its attractive gardens are a major draw for tourists.
Dunure itself began to reappear on the map in the 1800s, recreated as a fishing village as a result of a boom in the industry. Accordingly the bay was improved in 1811, and records of a great many land leases appear in 1819. As the village began to grow the charming waterside cottages began to be constructed. Despite its charms, Dunure is a largely undiscovered part of Scotland; it is just calling out to be explored.
* This is one possible origin of the famous American Kennedy family, the other was established independently in Ireland.
