Kinbane Castle (''Caisleán Ceinn Bán, White Head Castle, Kenbane Castle'') is located in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, on a headland between Ballycastle and

Ballintoy Ballintoy () is a small village, townland (of 274 acres) and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is alongside the B15 coast road, north-east of Coleraine, west of Ballycastle and between it and Bushmills. It is in the historic ...

. The name comes from the Irish for "white head", referring to the limestone of the promontory. Nowadays, the castle is largely destroyed. Kinbane Castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Cregganboy, in

Moyle District Council Moyle District Council was a local council in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymoney Borough Council, Coleraine Borough Council and Limavady Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisatio ...

area, at grid ref: D0876 4383. The area surrounding Kinbane Castle is a Scheduled Historic Monument, grid ref: D0879 4381. The site also has views of Rathlin Island and Dunagregor

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

fort.

History

In 1547, a two-storey castle was built at the headland by Colla MacDonnell. The castle was damaged and partly destroyed due to English sieges under Sir James Croft in the 1550s. Rebuilt afterwards, Colla MacDonnell died at the castle in 1558, and his son

Gillaspick MacDonnell Gillaspick MacDonnell (''Giolla Easpuig MacDomhnaill'') was a son of Colla MacDonnell, Captain of the Route and Evelyn MacQuillan. He was killed accidentally in 1571 at Ballycastle. Biography Upon the death of his father in 1558 at Kinbane Cas ...

subsequently inherited it. The hollow below the castle known as ''Lag na Sassenach'' (''Hollow of the English'') and it was allegedly during the 16th century that a garrison of English soldiers sieging the castle were surrounded and killed.

Sorley Boy MacDonnell Sorley Boy MacDonnell ( Scottish Gaelic: ''Somhairle Buidhe Mac Domhnaill''), also spelt as MacDonald (c. 1505 – 1590), Scoto-Irish chief, was the son of Alexander Carragh MacDonnell, 5th of Dunnyveg, of Dunyvaig Castle, lord of Islay and ...

, brother of Colla, later acquired the castle when trading property with Gillaspick. He later handed it to the MacAlisters because of their loyalty. The castle remained in the descendants of the MacAlisters of Kenbane until the 18th century.

References

{{coord, 55, 13, 45, N, 6, 17, 29, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Castles in County Antrim Clan MacAlister Ruined castles in Northern Ireland State Care Monuments of Northern Ireland Tower houses in Northern Ireland

History

See also

References