"If you'd imagine the picture of heaven it would bewhere the green glens of Antrim are welcoming me." -singer Daniel O'Donnell-Alexander MacDonnell, Lord Antrim, was the 3rd Earl of Antrim from 1682 to 1699. Initially, he owned great tracts of land along the northeast coast of Ireland, from Dunluce Castle eastward to Ballycastle, southward to Glenarm Castle, and inland through picturesque valleys known as the Glens of Antrim. Scotland is visible from the coastal headlands.-Dunluce Castle was the main residence of the Earls of Antrim before its abandonment in the 1690's. In their coffee-table picture book "Great Irish Castles and Houses," Jacqueline O'Brien and the Honorable Desmond Guinness report that "Dunluce Castle stands dramatically astride its rock, surrounded by the angry northern sea. A narrow bridge once connected the mainland to the castle which would have made it easy to defend, although the danger of seige and starvation must have been ever present. This precarious site was used as a stronghold since the Viking invasions around 800, and pottery from this period has been found in souterrain [underground galleries dug in the Iron Age] beneath the present ruins."-Dunluce's full-page picture shows a lofty ruined fairy-tale castle complex that adventurous children, and adults, would love to explore. Running into the rock below it is a large sea-cave.-Alexander's brother Randal, the 2nd Earl, died childless in 1682. England's King James I had granted the earldom to Alexander's father, the 1st Earl of Antrim, in 1620 for helping in the resettlement of Scottish Presbyterians in northern Ireland and for maintaining strategic castles such as Dunluce and Glenarm.-Lord Antrim was a Catholic with family roots in the Scottish Highlands and Western Isles. He sided with the Jacobites who wanted a Catholic Stuart as King of Scotland and, if possible, all the British Isles. The Stuart King James II of England and Scotland had reverted to Catholicism and was starting to persecute Protestants - Anglicans, Presbyterians, Puritans, it did not matter. James II was overthrown by the English under the Dutch leader William, Prince of Orange, in the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688. The majority of the English and the Scots did not want a Catholic king.-William of Orange became King William III of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1689 and set out to put the Irish back in line. Many Catholics had taken advantage of the situation to revolt against the English power structure there during the three years that James II was king.-Alexander MacDonnell was a 74-year-old colonel in the army of the deposed King James II at the Seige of Derry (1689) and the Battle of the Boyne (1690) in northern Ireland. "In Derry, the long seige had begun the previous December when the Protestant 'Apprentice Boys' slammed the city gates shut in defiance of a Catholic force led by Lord Antrim." - from "The Isles, a History" by Norman Davies.-James and his Jacobites lost this war of restoration to a more professional and better trained English/Dutch/Danish/Scotch-Irish/French Huguenot/German Protestant army. Alexander MacDonnell negotiated with the English and managed to keep his title and some of his estates in Ireland, under the 1691 Treaty of Limerick.-With all the customary expenses and appearances for a noble to maintain, Alexander became a little strapped for cash with the loss of part of his lands in Antrim and outstanding debts incurred by the 2nd Earl. Because he could no longer afford to keep up Dunluce Castle, the Earl moved into the nearby manor of Ballymagarry House, on a hill above the castle, and made it his main residence. Dunluce fell into ruin.-Ballymagarry House burned down in 1745, leaving just a 16th Century barn with a massive oak roof salvaged from Dunluce Castle. On the site today, at 46 Leeke Road in Portrush, is a Bed and Breakfast built around the barn which has been converted into a huge drawing room with a large brick fireplace.-After the fire at Ballymagarry House, Glenarm Castle, also known as Antrim Castle, was renovated and became the seat of the Earls of Antrim. In 1928 the MacDonnells leased Dunluce Castle to the government for preservation. It is open for visitors.-Alexander's son Randal, 4th Earl of Antrim, married Rachel Skeffington, daughter of Viscount Massarene, and their children were raised as Protestants. The powerful Massarenes were hard-core Anglo-Irish and long-time neighbors and rivals of the MacDonnells. When Randal and Rachel's eldest son reached adulthood, he conformed to the established church (Anglican) and took his seat in the Irish House of Lords as the 5th Earl of Antrim. One of Randal's descendants was Sir Winston Churchill through the Dukes of Marlborough.-The 3rd Earl's first wife was Lady Elizabeth Annesley (1640-1672). He married Helena Burke when he was 63 and she was 23. She gave him two children, Mary and Randal. Daughter Mary married a Protestant and one of their children was the very Presbyterian Reverend Alexander Miller who emigrated to America and preached on the Virginia frontier. This branch of the MacDonnell descendants produced thousands of American Millers, Stuarts, Bartons, and Palmers.-Today, Alexander MacDonnell's descendants,* including the current earl, are still at home among the "green glens of Antrim." His Lordship is an art restoration expert based in London and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He and the Countess return periodically to their estate at Glenarm. There are three daughters, Lady Flora, Lady Alice, and Lady Rachel, in addition to a son, Randal Alexander, who holds the title Viscount Dunluce.-From the Clan Donald Heritage website:-"The 1st major Scottish Highland Games anywhere in Ireland were hosted by the Earl of Antrim and his son the Viscount Dunluce in June, 2001 on the grounds of Castle Glenarm. Approximately 30,000 attended the Glenarm Highland Games establishing a firm foundation for them to continue.-"The 2002 'Open Days' at Glenarm Castle July 15th & 16th were equally a success. The International Federation of Strength Athletes held their 'World's Strongest Man' competition at the games in addition to the traditional stone put, hammer throw, caber toss, and weight throws for height & distance."-[Earl is the middle rank in the English and Irish peerages. From lowest to highest, they are: Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquess, Duke. Above Duke are members of the Royal Household.]------* About 200 years ago, the MacDonnells dropped the "a" in Mac and became McDonnells.-LP