County Antrim is one of the six traditional counties of Northern Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. It covers 1,192 square miles (3,086 km2) in the north-east corner of the island, and 651,321 people lived within its boundaries at the 2021 census — more than any other county in Northern Ireland.
Antrim has not been a unit of local government since 1973. The county name survives for addresses, sport, land registry and everyday reference, while services are run by six district councils created in 2015. Belfast, which straddles the Antrim–Down boundary at the River Lagan, is the largest settlement; the county town is Antrim itself.
| Country | Northern Ireland, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Province | Ulster |
| Status | Traditional county, not administrative |
| Area | 1,192 sq mi (3,086 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 651,321 |
| Density | 211 people per km2 (546 per sq mi) |
| County town | Antrim |
| Largest settlement | Belfast (part; the rest is in County Down) |
| Highest point | Trostan, 551 m (1,808 ft) |
| Councils | Six district councils since 2015 |
Towns and Villages in County Antrim
The list below runs to about 120 named places, grouped by the district council that now administers them. District boundaries were drawn for population, not for county lines, so a few places near the edges sit close to the old boundary; those cases are noted in the group headings.
Antrim and Newtownabbey
- Aldergrove
- Antrim
- Ballyclare
- Ballyeaston
- Ballynure
- Carmavy
- Carnmoney
- Crumlin
- Doagh
- Dunadry
- Glengormley
- Jordanstown
- Killead
- Loanends
- Mallusk
- Milltown
- Monkstown
- Mossley
- Muckamore
- Newtownabbey
- Nutts Corner
- Parkgate
- Randalstown
- Staffordstown
- Straid
- Templepatrick
- Toome (Toomebridge)
- Whiteabbey
- Whitehouse
Mid and East Antrim
- Ahoghill
- Ballycarry
- Ballygally
- Ballylumford
- Ballymena
- Broughshane
- Buckna
- Cargan
- Carncastle
- Carnlough
- Carrickfergus
- Clogh
- Connor
- Cullybackey
- Eden
- Galgorm
- Glarryford
- Glenarm
- Glenoe
- Glynn
- Gracehill
- Greenisland
- Islandmagee
- Kells
- Kilroot
- Kilwaughter
- Larne
- Magheramorne
- Martinstown
- Moorfields
- Newtown Crommelin
- Portglenone
- Portmuck
- Rathkenny
- The Sheddings
- Whitehead
- Woodburn
Causeway Coast and Glens (northern Antrim only)
- Armoy
- Ballintoy
- Ballybogy
- Ballycastle
- Ballymoney
- Ballyvoy
- Balnamore
- Bendooragh
- Billy
- Bushmills
- Cape Castle
- Castlecat
- Cloughmills
- Corkey
- Cushendall
- Cushendun
- Derrykeighan
- Dervock
- Dunloy
- Dunseverick
- Finvoy
- Glenaan
- Glenariff (Waterfoot)
- Kilraghts
- Knocknacarry
- Lisnagunogue
- Loughguile
- Moss-side
- Moyarget
- Portballintrae
- Portrush
- Rasharkin
- Rathlin Island
- Stranocum
- The Drones
- Torr Head
Lisburn and Castlereagh (Antrim side of the Lagan)
- Aghalee
- Ballinderry Lower
- Ballinderry Upper
- Derriaghy
- Dundrod
- Dunmurry
- Glenavy
- Lambeg
- Lisburn
- Maghaberry
- Magheragall
- Mazetown
- Stonyford
Belfast (north and west of the Lagan)
- Belfast
- Finaghy
- Greencastle
- Hannahstown
- Ligoniel
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (a small strip on the Lough Neagh shore)
- Aghagallon
Geography
Antrim is bounded by the North Channel and the Irish Sea to the east, the Atlantic at the north coast, Lough Neagh to the west, and the River Lagan to the south. County Down lies across the Lagan, County Londonderry across the Lower Bann, and County Donegal faces the north coast across Lough Foyle.
The Antrim Plateau of basalt runs down the middle of the county and ends at the sea in the cliffs of the Causeway Coast. Nine glens cut east from the plateau to the coast road between Larne and Ballycastle. Trostan, at 551 m, is the highest ground. The Giant’s Causeway, a columnar basalt formation near Bushmills, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Rathlin Island, six miles off Ballycastle, is the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland. The Lower Bann drains Lough Neagh north to the sea at Coleraine and forms the western boundary for much of its length.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 651,321 residents in the county area, about 211 people per square kilometre. That density figure hides a sharp split: roughly two-thirds of the population live in the Belfast urban area and the Antrim–Newtownabbey–Carrickfergus corridor, while the glens and the plateau hold a few thousand people each.
Outside Belfast, the largest towns are Lisburn, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Ballymena, Antrim, Larne and Ballyclare. The rural north of the county, around Ballymoney and the Route, is one of the most Protestant districts in Ireland; the western shore near Toome and Portglenone is predominantly Catholic.
Economy and Local Life
Belfast Harbour, Belfast International Airport at Aldergrove and the port of Larne make Antrim the busiest freight county in Northern Ireland. Manufacturing remains significant: aerospace at Belfast, buses at Ballymena, tobacco and pharmaceuticals at Carrickfergus and Larne.
The north coast lives on tourism. Portrush, Ballycastle, Cushendall and Bushmills fill in summer, and the Open Championship at Royal Portrush has raised visitor numbers again. Inland the land is mixed farming: dairy and beef on the lower ground, sheep on the plateau, potatoes on the Bann valley soils. Old Bushmills Distillery, licensed in 1608, is the county’s best-known single business.
History
The county name comes from the town of Antrim, in Irish Aontroim, meaning “lone ridge”. The territory was shired in the sixteenth century out of the lands of the Clandeboye O’Neills and the MacDonnells of the Glens, who had crossed from Scotland and held the coast from Dunluce and Glenarm.
Scottish settlement from the 1600s left the county with its Ulster-Scots speech, still strong around Ballymena and the Route. Linen made Antrim in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: mills lined the Sixmilewater, the Braid and the Lagan. Antrim County Council was set up in 1899 and abolished in 1973, when Northern Ireland moved to a single tier of district councils.
Getting There
The M2 runs from Belfast through Antrim town towards Ballymena and Coleraine; the M5 and M1 branch off it in the Belfast area. The A2 Antrim Coast Road links Larne, Glenarm, Carnlough and Ballycastle, and the A26 crosses from Ballymena to the north coast.
Belfast International Airport sits at Aldergrove, and Belfast City Airport at Sydenham on the Down side of the harbour. Larne Harbour has ferries to Cairnryan in Scotland. Rail lines from Belfast serve Larne, Carrickfergus, Antrim, Ballymena, Coleraine and Portrush.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of County Antrim?
651,321 at the 2021 census, the highest of any county in Northern Ireland and the second highest in Ireland after County Dublin.
Which councils cover County Antrim?
Six: Antrim and Newtownabbey, Mid and East Antrim, Causeway Coast and Glens, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Belfast, and a small area of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon. The county itself has had no council since 1973.
What is the largest town in County Antrim?
Belfast, though only the part north and west of the River Lagan is in Antrim. The largest wholly Antrim settlements are Lisburn and Newtownabbey.
How many towns and villages are in County Antrim?
About 120 named towns, villages and hamlets, listed above by council district.
Is County Antrim still a real county?
It exists as a traditional and ceremonial county and is still used in addresses, sport and land records. It has no administrative powers.
What is the highest point in County Antrim?
Trostan, in the Antrim Hills above Cushendall, at 551 m (1,808 ft).