In 2007 Portballintrae was considered as a location for a proposed £1 billion golf course complex by American tycoon and former American president Donald Trump.[2]
Between 1967 and April 1968 a team of Belgian divers (including Robert Sténuit, the world's first aquanaut), located the remains of the wreck of the Girona off the coast of Portballintrae and brought up the greatest find of Spanish Armada treasure salvaged up until that time.[3][4] The recovered artefacts are now on display in the Ulster Museum in Belfast.
Places of interest
Runkerry House as it stands today
The ruins of Dunluce Castle sit on the edge of a cliff between Portballintrae and Portrush. The castle was the main stronghold of the MacDonnell chiefs of Antrim.
Much of Portballintrae and its surrounding area is owned by the Macnaghten family of Dundarave House and Runkerry House. Runkerry, once the home of Lord Macnaghten, has since been converted into a series of apartments.
Portballintrae is classified as a small village or hamlet by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people).
On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 734 people living in Portballintrae. Of these:
12.0% were aged under 16 years and 33.4% were aged 60 and over
48.9% of the population were male and 51.1% were female
1.0% were from a Catholic background and 96.5% were from a Protestant background.