The name for County Antrim comes from the Gaelic word, Antrim (Holiday Homes, Antrim, Ireland), which translates to solitary farm. The territory known today is County Antrim, has a history of human activity stretching back an amazing 9,000 years. It is here where the first people in Ireland arrived from Scotland.
Antrim was the site of the very earliest of Viking Raids in Ireland, and it was later colonized by the Vikings. In 1177, the Anglo-Normans under the command of John de Courcy invaded Ulster. John 
de Courcy constructed Castle Carrickfergus, in Carrickfergus Antrim. Another Norman knight, Richard de Burgh constructed Dunluce Castle. In 1204, Castle Carrickfergus was taken by another Norman knight, Hugh de Lacy. King John arrived at Castle Carrickfergus in 1210 to defeat de Lacy, and thus the castle fell into the possession of the crown. In 1315, King Edward Bruce of Scotland sieged Castle Carrickfergus for over a year. Castle Carrickfergus saw continual military usage and combat for 750 years.
During the Rebellion of 1798, many Belfast Protestants, as well as Catholics participated in the struggle for a free Irish state. Consequently, many rebels were executed following the failed uprising.
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