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| Our History |
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The Londonderry Arms Hotel was built in 1848 as a coaching inn by
Frances Anne Tempest, Marchioness of Londonderry.
Frances Anne was the grand-daughter of Randall William,
sixth Earl and second Marquis of Antrim. He was the great great
grandson of Sir Randall MacDonnell, the first of that branch of
the MacDonnells to bear the title Earl of Antrim.
Frances Anne inherited from her mother, Anne Katherine,
Countess of Antrim in her own right, land between Glenarm and
Cushendall, including Carnlough.
At the age of 19 she married Charles William, Lord Stewart,
the British Ambassador to Austria, later the third Marquis of
Londonderry and sometime affectionately known as fighting Charlie.
As Ambassador he assisted his half-brother Castlereagh, and
afterwards the Duke of Wellington in the negotiations of the
celebrated Congress of Vienna. Lady Londonderry was greatly
admired at the Russian Court and the Russian Emperor, Alexander I,
gave her some of the Londonderry family jewels - the Down diamonds
and the parture and cross.
Conscious of their responsibilities as landlords, the
Marquis and Marchioness of Londonderry were determined to provide
assistance for the people of the area.
Ireland at that time was suffering one of the greatest
tragedies in its history - The Great Famine, also known as the
potato famine.
They initiated the erection of a town hall, lime kilns and
the building of a protected harbour. Later a mineral railway line
was built to connect the south pier with the limestone quarry in
the hills rising behind the village.
 The Marquis died in 1854 and on the death of Lady
Londonderry in 1865 the Carnlough estate passed to her son the
fifth Earl. After his death in 1884 in a train accident in Wales,
the estate passed to her grandson Herbert Vane Tempest. After his
death the estate, including the hotel, passed to his second
cousin, Sir Winston Churchill.
In 1934 Winston Churchill sold the hotel to the Lyons family.
During the Second World War part of the hotel was commissioned by
the Army to allow for the recuperation of wounded soldiers; after
the war in 1946 Mr Lyons sold the hotel in several lots which
considerably reduced its size.
For 60 years the hotel has been owned by the O'Neill
family who are the longest established hotelier families in
Ireland.
The hotel boasts original Georgian architecture and this
can be viewed throughout the hotel. The architecture is
complimented by antique furniture. The walls are decorated with
local artwork and evidence of local history through newspaper
clippings and photographs. |
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