At the eastern end of the Causeway Coast, Ballycastle is where the road toward the Glens of Antrim properly begins — a genuine working seaside town, not a built-for-tourism village, with its own long history and a harbour that still earns its keep.
History
The town grew up around what was once called Port Brittas, the old name for Ballycastle Bay. The MacDonnells of Antrim controlled the area from the late 1300s — the same clan behind Dunluce and Kinbane castles further along the coast.
The Ould Lammas Fair
Widely reckoned to be Ireland’s oldest fair, the Ould Lammas Fair has run in Ballycastle’s main square — the Diamond — since 1606, drawing thousands of visitors every year. Its exact origin is disputed: some say it began as a sheep market, others that Sorley Boy MacDonnell ordered the first celebration for his nephew. Either way, it’s a genuine, centuries-old event, not a modern revival dressed up as tradition.
Marconi’s early radio experiments
A few miles from Ballycastle seafront, Marconi ran one of the world’s first commercial wireless links, connecting a mainland cottage to a lighthouse keeper on Rathlin Island in 1898 — a genuinely significant piece of communications history most visitors never hear about. Full story on our Marconi & Rathlin page.
Ballycastle Golf Club
Founded in 1890 by twenty-six enthusiasts led by Naval Commander Alfred Malcolm Causton, Ballycastle Golf Club earned the nickname “the Warren Links” for the sheer number of rabbit holes that kept appearing across the course.
The Rathlin ferry
Ballycastle Harbour is the departure point for the Rathlin Island ferry — Northern Ireland’s only inhabited offshore island, with puffins, Bruce’s Cave, and a genuine half-to-full-day trip of its own.
Where to eat and stay
We already cover Ballycastle directly elsewhere on this site: The Salthouse for a stay, and Morton’s Fish and Chips and Ursa Minor Bakehouse for food — both genuine local institutions, not chains.
Getting there: Ballycastle sits at the eastern end of the Causeway Coastal Route, a natural point to stop before continuing on toward Fair Head, Murlough Bay, or the Glens of Antrim.