Ireland · Ruin
Kinbane Castle
Caisleán Ceinn Bán
Kinbane Castle is a small 16th-century two-storey castle on a narrow headland on the County Antrim coast between Ballycastle and Ballintoy. Built in 1547 by Colla MacDonnell, it was repeatedly attacked in the 16th century and today survives as a largely destroyed ruin under State care with views toward Rathlin Island and the surrounding cliffs.
First raised
1547
Its prime
1547
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1547
What Kinbane Castle looked like in its prime.
A compact two-storey rectangular stone keep sited on the tip of a narrow limestone promontory between steep grassy slopes and the sea; built of grey local masonry with thick walls and narrow slit windows, surrounded by low scattered foundations and rocky outcrops, the headland drops to a rocky shore and cliffs on one side while pasture and paths lead back inland, the building at its prime was complete with an intact upper storey and roofline.
Its story
The story of Kinbane Castle.
Colla MacDonnell's Fort on the White Head, 1547
In 1547 Colla MacDonnell built a two-storey castle on the narrow headland between Ballycastle and Ballintoy on the County Antrim coast. The castle's name, Kinbane — Irish for "white head" — described the limestone of the promontory itself, and the site looks out towards Rathlin Island and the Iron Age fort of Dunagregor.
Sir James Croft's Sieges and the Hollow of the English
In the 1550s, forces under Sir James Croft besieged and partly destroyed the castle, which was afterwards rebuilt. Colla MacDonnell did not long outlast the fighting: he died at Kinbane in 1558, and his son Gillaspick MacDonnell inherited it. Local tradition holds that during the 16th century a troop of English soldiers besieging the castle was surrounded and killed in the hollow below the castle walls, still known as Lag na Sassenach, the Hollow of the English.
From Gillaspick MacDonnell to the MacAlisters of Kenbane
Sorley Boy MacDonnell, Colla's brother, later acquired Kinbane from Gillaspick in a property exchange, then passed the castle to the MacAlisters in recognition of their loyalty. It remained in the possession of the MacAlisters' descendants until the 18th century. Today Kinbane is largely destroyed; it is a State Care Historic Monument, with the surrounding ground a Scheduled Historic Monument.
Step inside
5 places to explore in 1547.
The record describes 5 distinct spots at Kinbane Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Kinbane Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1547, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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Clans who held Kinbane Castle.
The families that held Kinbane Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Built in 1547 by Colla MacDonnell; his brother Sorley Boy MacDonnell later acquired it.
