Antrim Castle was built originally in 1613 by English settler, Sir Hugh Clotworthy, and enlarged in 1662 by his son, John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene.
It was through his daughter and heiress, Mary, and her marriage to Sir John Skeffington, 4th Baronet (by special remainder he would become the 2nd Viscount Massereene), that the estate and title came to the latter family.
The castle was rebuilt in 1813.

In the 1680s the castle was raided by Jacobite General Richard Hamilton and his men who looted Viscount Massereene's silver plate and other silverware and furniture up to a value of £3000, a considerable loss at the time.

For sometime the castle was used for political conferences; in 1806 Right Hon.
John Foster, the last Speaker of the Irish House was reported to have spoken in the Oak Room of the castle at a meeting.

During a grand ball on 28 October 1922, the castle caught fire and was destroyed.
Although much of the evidence pointed to arson by the IRA, the official verdict was not conclusive, thus no insurance claim was paid out.
The castle remained as a ruin until its demolition in 1970.
Antrim Castle was built originally in 1613 by English settler, Sir Hugh Clotworthy, and enlarged in 1662 by his son, John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene. It was through his daughter and heiress, Mary, and her marriage to Sir John Skeffington, 4th Baronet (by special remainder he would become the 2nd Viscount Massereene), that the estate and title came to the latter family. The castle was rebuilt in 1813.
In the 1680s the castle was raided by Jacobite General Richard Hamilton and his men who looted Viscount Massereene's silver plate and other silverware and furniture up to a value of £3000, a considerable loss at the time.
For sometime the castle was used for political conferences; in 1806 Right Hon. John Foster, the last Speaker of the Irish House was reported to have spoken in the Oak Room of the castle at a meeting.
During a grand ball on 28 October 1922, the castle caught fire and was destroyed. Although much of the evidence pointed to arson by the IRA, the official verdict was not conclusive, thus no insurance claim was paid out. The castle remained as a ruin until its demolition in 1970.
Antrim Castle