The Glens of Antrim ( Irish: ''Glinnte Aontroma''), known locally as simply The Glens, is a region of

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It comprises nine

glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...

s, that radiate from the Antrim Plateau to the coast. The Glens are an

area of outstanding natural beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

and are a major tourist attraction in north Antrim. The main towns and villages in the Glens are Ballycastle,

Cushendun Cushendun () is a small coastal village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits off the A2 coast road between Cushendall and Ballycastle. It has a sheltered harbour and lies at the mouth of the River Dun and Glendun, one of the nine Glen ...

Cushendall Cushendall (), formerly known as Newtownglens, is a coastal village and townland (of 153 acres) in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located in the historic barony of Glenarm Lower and the civil parish of Layd, and is part of Causeway Coas ...

, Waterfoot,

Carnlough Carnlough ( ; ) is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is situated in Mid and East Antrim district, as well the historic Barony (Ireland), barony of Glenarm Lower, and the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parishes of Ardclinis and T ...

and

Glenarm Glenarm () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It is situated in the civil parish of Tickmac ...

The Lordship of the Glens

From the mid-13th century onward, the Lordship of The Glens belonged to the Bissett family, Anglo-Norman in origin but

Gaelicized Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of Celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Ire ...

over generations. With the marriage of John Mor Macdonald, second son of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, to Margery Bisset in the late 14th century, the Glens came into the ownership of the

MacDonnells of Antrim The MacDonnells of Antrim (Gaelic: ''Mac Domhnaill''), also known as the MacDonnells of the Glens, are a branch in Ireland of the Scottish-based Clan Donald. Initially part of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg (Clan Donald South), the MacDonnells of Ant ...

. John Mor gained the title Lord of Dunyvaig and the Glens.

The nine glens

From north to south, the nine glens are:

Tenth glen

Glenravel is sometimes referred to as a tenth glen by locals. It lies to the southwest of Glenballyeamon and Glenariff, being separated from the latter by the Glenariff forest park. The main settlements of Glenravel are

Cargan Cargan ()Placenames NI
is a

Martinstown and

Skerry A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...

(Newtowncrommelin).

Archaeology

Artifacts of the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period have been found in various places of the Glens of Antrim including Bay Farm II and Madman's Window.

In popular culture

The Glens are mentioned in the song "

Ireland's Call "Ireland's Call" is a song by Phil Coulter used as a national anthem by some sports competitors representing the island of Ireland, originally the Ireland men's rugby union team. It was commissioned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) fo ...

". DI Sean Duffy, in the Troubles mysteries by Adrian McKinty, is from the Glens.

References

External links

Glens of Antrim WebsiteGlens of Antrim Historical Society

Landscapes Unlocked
- Aerial footage from the BBC ''Sky High'' series explaining the physical, social and economic geography of Northern Ireland. {{Authority control Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Northern Ireland Glens of Ireland Protected areas of County Antrim Earldom of Ulster