Established by Alexander MacDonnell, Dunaneeny held a commanding position overlooking Port Brittas (Ballycastle Bay) in which galleys brought over from Kintyre and the Isles would shelter. Local tradition suggests that a castle may have been first built on the site by the O'Carrol's, an old Irish family who previously lived in the area before the MacDonnell's. Excavations of the site have revealed a much more complex history to the site pre-dating the castle, with evidence to suggest that it may have been inhabited as a late prehistoric or protohistoric promontory fort.
