The Glens of Antrim (Glinntí Aontroma)

Nine green valleys running from the Antrim plateau down to the sea.

The nine Glens, among them Glenariff ('the Queen of the Glens'), are famed for waterfalls, native woodland and a patchwork of small farms. The area was one of the last places in the north-east where Irish was spoken as a community language.

At a glance

• Nine glens, incl. Glenariff
• Waterfalls and ancient woodland
• A former Gaeltacht of north-east Ulster

In County Antrim

The Glens of Antrim is in County Antrim, Aontroim in Irish, which means “lone ridge”.

More in Antrim

• The Giant's Causeway (Clochán an Aifir): Around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Antrim coast, a UNESCO site wrapped in the legend of Finn McCool.
• Rathlin Island (Reachlainn): Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island, an L-shaped seabird haven off the Antrim coast.
• Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (Carraig a' Ráid): A famous rope bridge swaying 30 m above the sea to a tiny fishing island.

Other places of this kind

• The Burren (Boireann): A vast, silvery limestone landscape in County Clare, where Arctic and Mediterranean flowers grow side by side.
• The Cooley Peninsula (Cúailnge): A mountainous peninsula in County Louth, and the setting of Ireland's great epic, the Táin Bó Cúailnge.
• The Curragh (An Currach): A great open plain of grassland, the historic home of Irish horse racing.
• The Glen of Aherlow (Gleann Eatharlaí): A lush valley between the Galtees and Slievenamuck.
• Sliabh Beagh (Sliabh Beagh): A wild upland of blanket bog and heather where three counties meet.
• Gougane Barra (Guagán Barra): A serene mountain lake and island oratory, source of the River Lee.

The Irish name

The Irish form of The Glens of Antrim is Glinntí Aontroma. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.