Ballygally Castle of Antrim

The Ballygally castle sits on the beautiful coast of Antrim, and is said to be just about 26 miles from Belfast. It is said to sit on the sandy and soft beaches of Ballygally Bay. The construction of the castle dates back to the year 1625, and this is said to be the only 17th century building which is still being used as a residence. The house is said to be haunted by a friendly ghost. If you’re game enough for it, you could try visiting the ‘ghost room’, which is in one of the towers of the Castle.

In today’s date and age, the Ballygally Castle Hotel is dubbed as being one of the jewels in the Hastings Crown. The Hastings Hotel Group brought it over in the year 1966. Since that time, there have been a number of renovations and extensions that have been instrumental in transforming the castle into the charming hotel that it is today.

A Peek Into Ballygally Castle History:

This castle was built in the year 1625, by James Shaw, and his wife Isabella Brisbane. There is an inscription placed over the main entrance to the castle, which reads – 1625 GOD IS PROVIDENS IS MY INHERITANS. Right above this is a shield that has arms of the Shaw and Brisbane family.

James Shaw was native to Scotland and came to the land of Ireland only in the year 1606 to try and seek his fortune. He happened to land this sub-grant to a land at measly 24 pounds sterling per year. This sub-grant was given to him by the Earl of Antrim. The land in question is the very land on which the castle now stands.

A lot of historians believe that the original castle may have been vast in comparison to what is left of it today. This building served as a refuge for the Protestants during the period of the Civil Wars.

Ballygally passed down to Henry Shaw, who got married to a Miss Hamilton. She had two sisters; both of whom came to join Henry Shaw and Miss Hamilton at the castle.

The Construction of the Castle:

When the castle was first built, the country that it stood in was a place of unrest. Given this fact, the castle was built as a place of residence, but also doubled up as a place of defense. Mostly local stone was used to create this castle, and it was built in the styling of a French chateau.

The walls of this castle are around 5 feet thick; and had loopholes for musketry. On the outside, there were originally said to be two courtyards, one of them was surrounded by higher walls; and the other courtyard was inside the higher walls. The inner of these two was said to be marked by two stone pillars which had round stone balls. This courtyard housed stables, sheep pens, dovecot, byres and a brew house.

The Ghost of Ballygally Castle:

Almost every castle has to have a ghost of its own; and so does this one. The popular stories say that the ghost is that of Lady Isabella, the wife of James Shaw, the original resident here. Legend has it that he wanted a son, and when his wife delivered his heir, he took the baby from his wife and locked her up in a room which was at the top of the castle.

While she tried to escape from there, Lady Isabella is said to have fallen to her death.

The ghost of this castle is reputed to being friendly.