Ballylough Castle

Ballylough Castle is a ruined fortress located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, historically situated within the parish of Billy in the barony of Dunluce Lower. While the specific year of its original construction is not recorded in available texts, the site holds significant historical weight as a former stronghold for two prominent clans, the MacQuillans and the MacDonnells. The castle first appears in written records in 1544 within the Annals of the Four Masters under the name Baile-an-locha. Its strategic importance is highlighted by a notable conflict in which the O'Donnells captured the structure, seizing valuable supplies including arms, armour, brass, iron, butter, and provisions.

In the early seventeenth century, the ownership of the lands surrounding the castle shifted as the Earl of Antrim granted extensive acreage at Ballylough to Archibald Stewart and Walter Kennedy between 1624 and 1625. The site also possesses a unique connection to maritime history, serving as a temporary repository for two chests recovered from a Spanish Armada shipwreck. These artifacts were kept by the Antrim family at the location until they were transferred to Glenarm Castle around 1740. Geographically, the castle was once positioned near a lake, which has since disappeared, and lies in close proximity to the famous Giant's Causeway.

Today, Ballylough Castle exists only as a ruin, with parts of the old structure still visible behind the later Ballylough House. The original townland has been subdivided into Ballylough, Ballyloughmore, and Ballyloughbeg over the centuries. Although the defensive fortification no longer stands intact, the site remains a point of archaeological interest, evidenced by historical discussions regarding a crannóg found nearby. The location serves as a tangible reminder of the turbulent clan warfare and shifting land grants that characterized the region's past.