[1] The castle lies in a field near the coast and the harbour of Cushendun.

[3] The castle was once occupied by Irish king Shane O'Neill, and Sorley Boy McDonnell was held as a prisoner here in 1565.

[1] In 1567, two years after being defeated by O'Neill, the McDonnells entertained him in Castle Carra during two days of hunting and feasting.

However, on the third day, 2 June, during a quarrel, they stabbed O'Neill to death to avenge their earlier defeat and sent his head to the English representatives of Queen Elizabeth in Dublin Castle.

[7] What remains are the ruins of a 16th-century square tower house built over a Mesolithic flint working site.