The Nine Glens of Antrim

As you head towards the Giants’ Causeway from Belfast, you will pass through the Nine Glens of Antrim. Many tourists visit there because of the beauty. These glens or valleys radiate from the Antrim Plateau towards the coast. The Glens are: Glentaisie, Glenshesk, Glendun, Glencorp, Glenann, Glenballyeamon, Glenariff, Glencloy, and Glenarm. Each of the Glens has its own stories.

Glentaisie, (meaning Taise’s valley or damp valley), is the most northern of the Glens. The town of Ballycastle is at the foot of the glen on the coast. According to the story teller, King Dorm of Rathlin Island had a daughter by the name of Taisie who was known for her beauty. Congal was the heir to the Kingdom of Ireland and was to marry Taisie. The King of Norway also wanted to marry her and arrived to claim her during the celebrations of Congal’s and Taisie’s wedding. The King and the Norwegian army tried to abduct Taisie, but during the battle, the King was killed and the army ran. The Battle of Glentaisie, was fought on 2 May 1565 in the Glentaisie area.

Glenshesk, (meaning barren valley), is on the eastern side of Knocklayde mountain and reaches the sea at Ballycastle. The Friary of Bunamargy was built at the foot of the glen in 1485 and is now in ruins. A number of standing stones mark the burial places of people killed in battle in the glen.

Glendun, (meaning valley of the river Dun), is named after the River Dun. Peat bogs at the river’s source colour the water brown. The Irish name is Gleann Abhann Duinne which translates into English as glen of the brown river. This glen descends from the forested slopes of Slieveanorra mountain and heads towards Cushendun. The valley wanders between the mounts of Crocknacreeva and Gruig Top on one side and Crockaneel on the other. There is a scenic rive the loops of the main Causeway Coastal Route. The Charles Lanyon viaduct style bridge was completed in 1839. This bridge has three large arches. This bridge was built as part of the Coast Road which was started in 1832. Be careful if you take any side roads are they are narrow.

Glencorp, (meaning the valley of the slaughtered, bodies, or dead), is at a right angle to Glendun and share the same outflow to the ocean. It also merges with Glenballyeamon. The Causeway Coastal Route runs through the glen as well as the Ballybrack which follows higher up along the side of Cross Slieve. There are views across the glen to Trostan and Lurig mountain before passing the hill of Tieverah and going down into Cushendall.

Glenann, (meaning the valley of the burial chamber), is the home of the court cairn known as Ossian’s (Oisin) grave. This is reputed to have ben where Ossian, the son of Finn MacCool, was buried. As the story goes, Oisin married Niamh and went to live with her in the land of Tir na nOg. As people do, he became homesick after a few years and made arrangements to visit his family. One condition that he had agreed to was that he would go on Niamh’s horse and he would never touch the ground. Well, he made it home only to find that 300 years had passed and that is father was only remembered in folk lore. He turned around and headed back to Tir na nOg when he came upon a number of men who were trying to move a large boulder. He decided that he would try to help them and fell off the horse when turning in his saddle. When he hit the ground, he aged instantly and died. Oisin was buried where he fell.

Glenballyeamon, (meaning valley of Eamonn’s Town), starts from the slopes of Trostan mountain between the slopes of Tievebuilliagh and Lurigethan mountain and heads towards Red Bay, with Cushendall situated at the mouth of the glen. There is a derelict railway station of Retreat at the top of the glen. This was the last stop on the Ballymena to Parkmore railway line. This line was once used to take away lime and ore from the local mines. There are a couple of good locations for waterfalls, especially after rain. There are also a smaller series of waterfalls on the northern side below Barard mountain. You can also see the remains of small fields of raised beds which was an old farming method of potatoes. This method of cultivation dates back to the 18^th century.

Glenariff, (meaning valley of the ploughman/arable valley), is the biggest and most popular of the Glens. Waterfoot lies on the coast at the foot of the glen. It is also famous for the Glenariff Forest Park which is 2928 acres in size. One of the features of the forest is the Waterfall Walkway which opened 80 years ago. This walkway is 3 miles in length and has three waterfalls, forest trails and riverside walks, as well as a visitor centre, shop, and seasonal caravan and camping site and restaurant. The forest is also used for timber production of coniferous plantation trees.

Glencoy: I actually found two meanings for the name, Valley of the Swords, and Valley of the Hedges. Glencoy is short and broad with hedges of hawthorn and gorse lower in the glen. On higher ground, you will find stone walls and many small farms. From the top, you can see moorland and forest, as well as the Slemish Mountain. There are also stone gate pillars, usually with a conical top. If you are interested, there is Doonan Fort which was an early Christian stockade from 1200 years ago.

Glenarm, (meaning valley of the army), is the home of Glenarm Cahstle and Dunluce Castle. Glenarm Castle dates from 1750 and has early 19^th century alterations. Glenarm appears to be the oldest town in Ulster with their charter being granted in the 12^th century. The history of castles in this glen range from 1270 when John or Robert Bisset renting from the Bishop of Down and Connor, to Elizabeth 1 of England, with political intrigues and the flight of the Irish chiefs overseas at the start of the 17^th century, to the plantation settlers from Great Britain, to Sir Randall MacDonell, to the Rebellion of 1641and more. During the Great Famine, the Glens did not do as badly as the rest of Ireland. The nobility looked after their people with soup kitchens, and other schemes to help the people.

The Nine Glens of Antrim are beautiful and have a long and colourful history. Unfortunately, we did not have the chance to see or hear very much of them during our trip. I, for one, would like to go back and spend some time in this area to experience the Glens much more fully. I got most of the information for this article from a website featuring the Coastal Highway, Wikipedia, and a couple of minor websites that were helpful.