Ballygally Castle at 400: A year of celebration

Ballygally Castle, Northern Ireland’s only 17th-century building continuously occupied as a residence, stands sentinel on the rugged Antrim coast, its turrets and stone walls facing the Irish Sea as they have since 1625.

Built by James Shaw, who leased the land from the Earl of Antrim, the castle’s defensive design, with musket loopholes, corner turrets and walls approximately five feet thick has allowed it to weather centuries of conflict and change. Today, the castle is part of the Hastings Hotels portfolio and one of its most distinctive properties, combining historic character with four-star luxury.

This year, Ballygally Castle has been celebrating its 400th anniversary with a year-long programme of festivities that has been designed to be as commercially effective as it has been culturally significant. For General Manager Scott Weatherup, who has overseen the celebrations, the milestone is an opportunity to engage with the local community, reinforce the castle’s positioning in the luxury leisure market, and showcase the power of sustained investment in a historic asset. “For the village alone, this is huge,” he says. “We’ve had community events here through the 400 years because it’s not just about the hotel as a business, it’s about the village as a community. Ballygally is a small village, not tiny, but small enough that the castle really is its heart.”

Strategic approach to a milestone year

Where many operators might have marked a major anniversary with a one-off gala dinner or black-tie ball, Ballygally Castle chose a different path. Weatherup and his team developed a twelve-month calendar of events designed to sustain awareness and engagement across 2025, attract repeat visitation, and generate incremental revenue throughout the year.

“We weren’t going to do one big event where some hotels might have a Ruby dinner and that’s it,” Weatherup explains. “We’re a smaller hotel, so we thought, let’s do things differently. Let’s run events throughout the whole year and really showcase the castle.”

That decision turned the anniversary into a rolling marketing platform. The programme opened with a Motown tribute concert in January that drew a strong local crowd, filling the lounge with music and laughter during what is traditionally a quieter trading period. “That was for the people of Ballygally,” Weatherup recalls. “It was a brilliant night; the music, the dancing, everyone enjoying themselves. It set the tone for the year.”

March brought the first of two murder mystery evenings, which proved so popular that it sold out before any promotion on social media. “It sold out without us even advertising, which is unheard of,” Weatherup says. “The team who run it created a whole storyline. Guests were sneaking through the castle corridors, piecing together clues and the castle itself became part of the performance.”

Summer saw a shift outdoors, with a community barbecue on the castle lawns and a sunrise sea swim that encouraged guests to engage with the coastline. “It’s about embracing the coast,” Weatherup says. “You go for your sea dip even if it’s raining, then you come back here for coffee and a hot breakfast. That’s the kind of experience people remember.”

The programme continues through autumn, with a second murder mystery evening already sold out and a staff-led beach clean scheduled as part of a wellbeing initiative. “It’s not just about putting on events,” Weatherup explains. “It’s about doing something meaningful for the area. We have this amazing coastline, and we want to look after it.”

From a business perspective, the staggered calendar has helped extend the anniversary’s impact across multiple booking periods, encouraging repeat visits and creating fresh opportunities for media coverage. It has also provided content for social channels, supporting efforts to strengthen Ballygally Castle’s presence in the domestic leisure market…

Check out our October Digital Issue to read the FULL INTERVIEW next week!