Ballygally

Ballygalley or Ballygally is a village and holiday resort in County Antrim, Northern Ireland which lies on the Antrim coast, approximately 3 miles north of Larne. It had a population of 714 in the 2001 Census.

In the 1990s archaeological excavations were carried out in Ballygalley and remains of a number of Neolithic houses on low ground about 500m from the shore of Ballygalley Bay were discovered. Ballygalley Neolithic site produced a large number of finds, including pottery, worked flints and stone axes and is an important Neolithic site.

It is also home to Ballygally Castle, reputed to be the oldest occupied building in Ireland and with a reputation for being haunted. It sits in the middle of the village and is currently used as a 4 star hotel. It was built around 1625 for James Shaw of Greenock and is one of Ireland’s best-preserved Scottish baronial style plantation houses. Ballygally, despite the shop being demolished in 2008 to build flats, now boasts a brand new two-storey building, funded thankfully by Big Lottery, Larne Borough Council and NER. The building consists of a large Spar shop at ground level and a magnificent Community Hall on the first floor.