The County Antrim War Memorial, Knockagh Road, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim

The County Antrim War Memorial is a monumental obelisk erected in 1935 on an elevated site on the eastern perimeter of Knockagh Hill, overlooking Belfast Lough. It was designed by architect Henry Seaver, FRIAI of the Belfast Harbour Board, and stands as a landmark of considerable historical significance throughout County Antrim.

The memorial stands approximately 50 feet high and is constructed of reconstituted stone blocks. It comprises a rusticated rectangular pedestal with chamfered plinth and simple cast concrete cornice, supporting an obelisk on a blocking course. The whole structure is set on a platform of three shallow concrete steps contained within a grassed enclosure. The south face of the pedestal bears a rendered inscription panel reading: "To the Glory of God / and in proud / and affectionate remembrance / of the men / of County Antrim / who fell in the Great War / this memorial / is erected by their / grateful county. / 'Nobly you fought your knightly virtue proved / your memory hallowed in the land you loved'."

The obelisk is topped with an applied painted metal wreath enclosing the dates 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. A polished granite plaque dated 2006 is located at the south chamfer of the pedestal plinth. The site is accessed from a tarmac parking area by a cast-iron gate set in a squared rubble stone boundary wall with soldier coping. The memorial commands expansive views over Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey districts, towards Belfast to the south, and out to sea.

Plans to erect a County war memorial were first put in place in 1918 by the High Sheriff of the County, Henry Dupre Malkin Barton. A committee was formed to raise £25,000 to erect an obelisk composed of locally sourced basalt with bronze panels listing the names of those from County Antrim who had died during the war. Due to funding shortages, the monument was not completed until 1936. The site was chosen after consideration of various alternatives including the top of Slemish mountain and the Giant's Causeway. The monument was conceived as a scaled-down version of the Wellington Testimonial in Phoenix Park, Dublin, erected in 1817.

The final design features a simple laurel wreath in bronze, positioned 10 feet above the plinth, with an inscription composed by Henry Barton. The foundations were laid on Saturday 7 October 1922 in an event attended by many well-known guests and conducted by Lady Antrim. During the 1980s the memorial was vandalised, but was subsequently restored in 1985 at the shared expense of Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Larne, Newtownabbey Borough Councils; Belfast and Lisburn City Councils; and Moyle District Council, representing the county-wide interest in the monument. The renovation was carried out by Messers Kirk, McClure and Morton of Belfast.