Glenarm

Glenarm lies where a wooded valley opens onto the Antrim coast, facing the waters between Ireland and Scotland. The MacDonnells, whose power linked the glens with the Scottish islands, became the leading family of this shore. Sorley Boy MacDonnell expanded their holdings during the sixteenth century, and in 1603 his son Randal received a grant recognising his lands in the Route and the Glens. Randal, later Earl of Antrim, built Glenarm Castle in 1636, establishing a family seat beside the river and the sea.