Glenarm

Village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Glenarm (from ga Gleann Arma 'valley of the army') is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It is situated in the civil parish of Tickmacrevan and the historic barony of Glenarm Lower. It is part of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council and had a population of 568 people in the 2011 Census. Glenarm takes its name from the glen in which it lies, the southernmost of the nine Glens of Antrim.

The Castle dates from 1750, with early 19th century alterations. Glenarm claims to be the oldest town in Ulster, having been granted a charter in the 12th century. The Barbican Gate to Glenarm Castle was restored by the Irish Landmark Trust, a conservation charity that saves buildings that are at risk of being lost. In the 5th to 7th centuries (the beginning of the Early Christian period), Glenarm lay within the territory of the kingdom of Dal Riada. This covered coastal County Antrim from Glenarm to Bushmills. The inland boundary was formed by the watershed along the top of the Antrim hills. The coast of County Antrim south of Glenarm and west of Bushmills, as well as the lands south of the River Bush lay within the territories of another group of tribes called the Dal nAraide (pronounced Dalnary). A branch of the Dal nAraide, known as Latharna, seems to have occupied the coast from just south of Glenarm to Carrickfergus and beyond. The area at one point came under threat from the Vikings who founded their only settlement of note in Ulster at "Ulfrek's fjord", present day Larne. According to Snorri Sturluson, an Icelandic historian, Connor, King of Ireland, defeated the raiding Orkney Vikings at "Ulfreksfjord" in 1018. The name Olderfleet is a corruption of "Ulfrek's fjord". though some sectarian tension still exists between elements in the two villages.

On 21 September 1996 a Protestant, Kenneth Auld, age 47, died four days after being stabbed in a dispute involving the flying of a Northern Ireland flag in Glenarm. Auld had been trying to prevent a group of Republicans from removing the flag when he was stabbed with a screwdriver. A local man was charged with the killing but later acquitted.

Glenarm Forest Park is an nature preserve once part of the demesne of Glenarm Castle, but now in public and maintained by the Ulster Wildlife Trust. Other notable features include a salmon fishery and Glenarm Castle.

Glenarm have three very successful sports teams. There is a Rowing Club (coastal) which trains over the summer months to prepare for the annual all Ireland Rowing Competition. In 2009 the club's Veteran Team won an all Ireland silver medal at the championships held in Waterville, County Kerry. The club which was founded in the late 19th century has been enjoying a revival in recent years and holds regular regattas with two other local coastal rowing clubs in Carnlough and Cairndhu Four oared gig racing has a measure of popularity in the village Up until recently craft for this sport were the product of local boat builders and during the summer crews may be seen training out on the bay. A highlight of the gig racing calendar is the Annual Regatta which takes place in summer time and attracts crews from local clubs to take part in the local challenge. The local rowing club is Glenarm Rowing Club, who have over 10 members and are part of the Irish Coastal Rowing Federation. 2009's All Ireland a combined crew of Glenarm and Carnlough won a silver in the Veteran Men. The club was featured on the BBC documentary programme Coast. There is also Glenarm Rovers F. C. that play Saturday morning football, managed by Terry Hastings. Glenarm Rovers have been promoted the two previous seasons but have struggled in their current division, though they managed to beat the drop. Shane O'Neills GAA Club play just outside Glenarm in Feystown and field hurling teams at various adult and juvenile levels.

Highland Games tournaments are regularly held in Glenarm Castle. The Glenarm GAA club hosted the 2009 North Antrim Feis, which is a gathering of Irish culture. There were many GAA sports finals, arts competitions and Scór events. The Dalriada Festival is also held at Glenarm Castle and within the village, which celebrates sport, music and fine food from all over Scotland and Ireland, as well as hosting traditional Ulster Scots cultural events. As part of the Dalriada Festival Glenarm Castle has started to host large outdoor concerts which as of 2012 has welcomed artists like General Fiasco, The Priests, Duke Special, Ronan Keating, Sharon Corr, Brian Houston, David Phelps and the likes. Summer Madness, Ireland's biggest Christian Festival, moved from its annual residence at the Kings Hall, Belfast, to Glenarm Castle in 2012. It is thought this Festival will return to Glenarm, on a yearly basis, for the foreseeable future.

Glenarm village was used in the film The Boys from County Clare (2003) which also used other locations in the Glens of Antrim. Glenarm Castle itself was used in Five Minutes of Heaven. The Christmas film A Christmas Star had scenes filmed near the marina of Glenarm village. BBC drama My Mother and Other Strangers used Altmore Street as its WWII setting during spring 2016 filming. Game of Thrones used Glenarm's scenic background as one of many County Antrim's cameo in the American HBO series.

Glenarm is classified as a small village or hamlet by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i. e. with a population less than 1,000 people). On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 568 people living in Glenarm. Of these:
21.30% were aged under 16 and 16.90% were aged 60 and over
47.18% of the population were male and 52.82% were female
43.13% were from a Catholic background and 53.35% were from a Protestant background