Description:

Perched atop a cliff once home to a promontory fort, Greenan Castle is a ruined tower house about 2.5 miles (4 km) southwest of Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Àir, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir a Deas, Alba). A motte-and-bailey castle was built here in the 12th century, followed in the 15th century by a tower house constructed by the Lords of the Isles. The Lord of the Isles (Scottish Gaelic: Triath nan Eilean or Rìgh Innse Gall) was a Scottish noble title with roots stretching back before the Kingdom of Scotland, held by island chiefs descended from the Norse-Gaels who once ruled the islands of Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Argyll. The castle eventually came into the possession of the Kennedy family.