Shane O'Neill was the dominant Gaelic lord of Ulster in the 1560s. In 1565 he held Sorley Boy MacDonnell prisoner, and in 1567 he sought help from the MacDonnells. Spirited Isle says that after two days of hunting and feasting a quarrel broke out on 2 June 1567 and he was killed, and his head was sent to Dublin Castle. Wikipedia records that he was killed by the MacDonnells at Cushendun.
Spirited Isle says the ruined Castle Carra was one of his strongholds, and that his headless spectre has been reported wandering in the grounds. A guide to the Cushendun caves says that legend has it his headless ghost still haunts the caves, and describes the ruins of Carra Castle as still visible above the village. The Spirited Isle address for the castle gives a Ballymena postcode, but the guide places the castle above Cushendun, which is where the coordinates here are set.
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