Dunineny Castle Ruins, Clare Road, Ballycastle, Co Antrim

The ruins of Dunineny Castle are a medieval coastal castle, likely built before 1600, situated on a cliff top promontory overlooking Rathlin Sound at a place called Castle Point in the Town Parks area of Ballycastle, County Antrim. Constructed on a triangular piece of ground, the castle’s history is intertwined with the power struggles between the McQuillans, McDonnells, and McGregors. It's thought the McDonnells built a series of small castles along the north Antrim coast to consolidate their power and control, and Dunineny Castle was one of these.

The visible remains consist of meagre basalt walls, including two stumps of basalt masonry which may have been turrets on either side of what would have been the entrance. A moat or ditch separates the triangular platform on which the castle stood. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland provide a description of the ruins as they appeared in the 1830s, noting considerably more structure has since disappeared. No internal apartments or vestiges thereof are now discernible. Current repair work is being undertaken to prevent further deterioration of the remaining ruins. As a scheduled monument, a more detailed discussion can be found under reference SMR No. Ant 4:1 at the Monuments and Buildings Record in Belfast.