County Antrim
(Irish
Aontroim, possibly from
Endruim, "habitation on the waters")
As with so many other parts of the country, Antrim's geography
has dominated its history. Situated on the 13-mile-wide North
Channel, with the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland clearly visible
across the water, the region has long been an entry point to
the rest of the island. There is evidence to suggest that the
earliest human settlers arrived in Ireland via Antrim.
In the period before the 17th century, when the county was part
of the territory of the O'Neills, there was much migration from
Scotland. The process accelerated after 1600, with the collapse
of the old Irish aristocracy, and in addition to the Scots,
many English settlers were given confiscated land.
The cultural diversity of the county can be seen clearly in
the sheer variety of surnames associated with it. Matheson,
in his 1890 Report on Surnames in Ireland, gives 133 surnames
as associated with Tipperary, one of the largest counties, whereas
for Antrim he reports no fewer than 643, including such English
names as Ashe, Bell and Harrison, Scottish names such as Campbell,
Hamilton and Boyd and the native Irish McDonnell, McCracken
and O'Neill.