The castle and the old church that stood on the site of the present day church was lay siege to during the 1641 rebellion when local Presbyterians took refuge inside. The local priest Father MacGlaime was said to have asked that water be allowed in each day for the women and children hold up in the tower and it was agreed.

Each day he would take buckets of water down to the church where they were hauled up the top of the tower. The unsuspecting force around the church did not know that oatmeal was placed below the water line. After a week of laying siege to the church and with no sign of starvation from within, they began to wonder how these people could survive.

The garrison in the castle were able to hold at bay the attackers until relief arrived and those laying siege retreated to Ballycastle, when the truth of what Father MacGlaime had done came out, he was subsequently murdered by people who had took part in laying the siege. One of those inside was a Thomas Boyd of Lisconnan who later made a disposition before Oliver Cromwell's commissioners which is still to be seen in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin.

During the late nineteenth century the harbour was extensively used for shipping sett stones, a small rail track existed for moving the piles of sett stones and limestone to the quayside. At Brockie Quarry near Larry Bane over one hundred men were employed chipping and shaping sett stones that went to pave the streets of cities such as Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Limerick and Glasgow.

The well built lime kiln stands as a testament to the harbour's industrial past, burnt lime would have been drawn away by horse and cart to help build the numerous stone cottage and rural halls in the district.

Ballintoy is still a working harbour for local fishermen who continue a tradition that goes back to when man first arrived on this coast, it naturally produces good boatmen due to the dangerous waters which they and their father's have come to understand, respect and work upon.The large boat cave to the right of the car park would have been used to repair, lay over and build boats inside.

Though the scores of basalt islands act to shelter the harbour from prevailing storms, it can still on occasions get battered, for me it is one of the most awesome location to watch a full blown Atlantic storm from, I have seen waves riding up the armour walling and washing over the footpath at the left hand side of O'Rourke's Kitchen.