O’Connor Memorial, The Diamond, Ballycastle, Co Antrim

The O'Connor Memorial is a late 19th-century Gothic-style drinking fountain and memorial, approximately 6 metres high, constructed of pink sandstone on a grey granite base and positioned in the centre of the Diamond in Ballycastle. It was erected in 1899 to commemorate Dr George Matthew O'Connor, a local medical practitioner who served as the fever hospital and workhouse doctor. Dr O'Connor was born on 1 June 1817 and died on 20 November 1887. The memorial was designed by Pope of Southampton and built by masons Charles Darragh and Andy Vernon at a cost of £352-10-0.

The structure consists of a roughly square plinth built from local pinkish sandstone resting on a circular granite base with two steps. The plinth incorporates functional features: a drinking fountain facing Holy Trinity Church and a water trough in granite on the opposite side. Two black granite plaques are set into the remaining sides—one recording Dr O'Connor's name and death date, the other bearing the coat of arms of the O'Connors. The plaques and water sources are recessed within ogee-pointed and moulded frames, with matching ogee hood moulding above. Miniature shoulder buttresses form the arrises of the base.

Above the plinth, the memorial transforms into an octagon with sloping sides in two courses, which supports a miniature arcade of eight Gothic arches complete with bases, circular polished red granite columns, capitals, and an octagonal moulded cornice above. From this rises a slender eight-sided spire with a gabled base and leafy finial.

The fountains no longer operate and metal plates now conceal the water sources. The surrounding street paving has been altered multiple times since the memorial's construction, and the circular base is now set within a wider circular shallow declivity finished in rows of cobbles and shaped concrete blocks forming a protective screen (except in front of the water trough). The immediate vicinity is paved with cobbles in straight lines. The memorial's Gothic style contrasts markedly with the Greco-Roman character of the adjacent Holy Trinity Church. The space frequently serves as a car park.

The memorial is of special architectural and historical interest for its Gothic design, proportion, ornamentation, and setting, which contribute to the designed layout of the town centre, and for its association with a significant local historical figure. It is situated within the Ballycastle Conservation Area.