Rathlin Isle & Ballycastle
 Abbeys |
Rathlin Island lies just off the north Antrim coastline and is Northern Ireland's last remaining inhabited offshore island. The short crossing from the mainland is notoriously difficult and often very dangerous. Access by boat is possible during fine conditions only, for the wreck-filled waters can become too treacherous in bad weather. Nevertheless, Rathlin, despite its near inaccessibility, its hostile environment and its rugged coastline consisting almost entirely of cliffs, has not been altogether by-passed by history.
There is evidence from a prehistoric site of a Stone Age axe factory existing on the island, and the earthworks known as Doonmore ( dun mor is Gaelic for ‘big fort') would indicate an ancient settlement. In the early Christian period too, it is clear that the island was again inhabited, this time providing a haven for monks. In AD795, Rathlin was the first place in Ireland to be attacked by Viking raiders. Subsequent centuries have witnessed three bloody massacres on the island, one by Scots and two by English troops.
In 1575, the MacDonnell clan, who controlled much of Co. Antrim and were at war with the English, sent their women, children and elderly to Rathlin Island for safety. However, an invading English fleet under the command of the Earl of Essex, stopped over at the island on the way to Co. Antrim, and slaughtered the entire population, including the family of Sorley Boye MacDonnell, the clan leader. In command of one of the English ships was Francis Drake. The MacDonnells, related to the Scottish MacDonald clan, were back on Rathlin Island when, in 1642, they were again butchered, this time by their bitter Scottish enemies, the Cambells.
Bruce's Cave, located below the northern lighthouse on Rathlin's rugged coastline, is the hiding place to which Robert the Bruce retreated after suffering a humiliating defeat by the English at Perth in 1306. Here it was, so legend has it, that Robert learnt an invaluable lesson in patience, watching a spider spin and re-spin its web patiently. More can be discovered about Rathlin's history in the island's Boathouse, now converted to house a heritage centre.
Ballycastle, the nearest port on the Irish mainland to Rathlin, provides a pleasant base from which to explore the Causeway Coast, the Glens of Antrim and of course Rathlin Island itself. One of a number of fairs held in the town is the Ould Lammas Fair in August; this is Ireland's oldest fair dating from 1606 when the MacDonnells first obtained a charter. On the town's seafront is a memorial to Marconi, inventor of the wireless, who in 1898 made his first successful radio transmission between Ballycastle and Rathlin.
Close by Ballycastle are the intriguing ruins of Bonamargy Friary, founded in 1500 by the MacQuillan family for use by Franciscans. Julia, a family member, insisted on being buried in the main walkway so that she may be humbled by the stepping feet of others, even in death. The Friary suffered damage in 1584 at the hands of one of the local ruling MacDonnell clan, but was at once repaired by a more devout member of the family, Sorley Boye MacDonnell, clan leader. Sorley Boye and his son Randall, Earl of Antrim, lie at rest here in the MacDonnell family vault.
The Margy River, on which the Friary stands, is associated with the tragic Irish legend of the Children of Lir, whose jealous stepmother turned them into swans forcing them to spend 300 years on the Sea of Moyle. Carraig Uisneach is a coastal rock near Ballycastle onto which the mythical Deirdre of the Sorrows, her lover Naoise and his brothers, are said to have come ashore after long exile in Scotland.