Glenarm: The First of the Glens and the Earl's Castle

Glenarm lies in the southernmost of the nine Glens of Antrim — Gleann Arma, the valley of the army — on the North Channel coast between Larne and Carnlough, and it claims to be the oldest town in Ulster, with a charter from the 12th century. There has been a castle here since the 13th century. Sir Randal MacDonnell was still adding to a new castle on the present site when he died in 1636; Munro's Scots burnt it in 1642, and the house you see was rebuilt by Alexander, 5th Earl of Antrim, in 1756 and much enlarged in the 19th century. It is still the family home. The old castle stood by Sir Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim, and it is still the family home: the McDonnells have been at Glenarm for nearly 600 years. Its walled garden opens to the public from May to September, and the Barbican Gate has been restored by the Irish Landmark Trust.