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Situated a few miles to the east of Carrick-a-Rede is the secluded remains of Kenbane (White Head) Castle. There are many spellings for Kenbane, as is common with many local names, Kinbane, Kenbane, Kinbahn and Kenbahn, another name associated may have been Reuben's Castle. Exceptional in its location, the castle is built on a limestone headland which protrudes out into the Rathlin Sound from below overlying basalt cliffs, the headland has a sea cave which passes through from one side to the other.
This is a magical and haunting location where you can almost feel the past, the hollow below the castle is known as 'Lag na Sassenach' (Hollow of the English). It was here during the 1500s that a garrison of English soldiers laying siege to the castle were surrounded and massacred. Fires had been lit on the headland to call for assistance and help came from all directions, the location that the garrison had placed itself in was impossible to escape from being surrounded by sea on one side and steep cliffs on the other. |