A sea cave called the Mermaid's Cave lies beneath the headland of Dunluce Castle. It is a natural cavity shaped by erosion and not a harbour built to hide boats. Its best known association is the Maeve Roe story, in which the lovers escape to a boat stored there.
There is also a separate mermaid tale. According to one legend, local fishermen caught a mermaid and brought her to the castle as a prize. She managed to escape from her captors and vanished into the sea, never to be seen again.
The mermaid stories of the Irish and Scottish coasts often involve a captured sea woman who gets away, so this fits a wider pattern.
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