Rathlin Island (Irish: Reachlainn) is an island off the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, and is the northernmost point of the region. Six miles (10 km) from the mainland, Rathlin is the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland, and is the most northerly inhabited island off the Irish coast.

The L-shaped island is 4 mi (7 km) from east to west, and 2.5 mi (4 km) from north to south. Rathlin is located only 15.5 mi (25 km) from the Mull of Kintyre, the southern tip of Scotland's Kintyre peninsula. It is part of the Moyle District Council area.

A ferry (operated by Caledonian Macbrayne) connects the main port of the island, Church Bay, with the mainland at Ballycastle, 6 mi (9.7 km) away. The ferry carries foot passengers and a small number of vehicles. Caledonian Macbrayne won a 10-year contract for the service in 1996, providing it as a subsidised "lifeline" service.

Rathlin is one of 43 Special Areas of Conservation in Northern Ireland. It is home to tens of thousands of seabirds, including Kittiwakes, Puffins and Razorbills – about 30 bird families in total. It is a popular place for birdwatchers, with a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve offering spectacular views of Rathlin's bird colony.

The cliffs on this relatively bare island are impressive, standing 230 ft (70 metres) tall. Bruce's Cave is named after Robert (the) Bruce, also known as Robert I of Scotland: it was here that he was said to have seen the famous spider.

Rathlin was the site of an infamous massacre in July 1575, when the Earl of Essex ordered a force to the island, led by Francis Drake and John Norreys. The English killed hundreds of the women and children of Clan MacDonnell, who had taken refuge there [1][2].

In retaliation, Sorley Boy MacDonnell sacked the town of Carrickfergus. [Citation needed]Italian-Irish inventor Guglielmo Marconi tested his wireless by sending a signal from Ballycastle to Rathlin in 1898.More recently, Richard Branson crashed his hot air balloon into the sea off Rathlin Island in 1987 after his record-breaking cross-Atlantic flight from Maine, USA.

The island formerly boasted a population of around 1,000, but its current winter population is around 75. This is swelled by visitors in the summer, most come to view the cliffs and their huge seabird populations. Many visitors come for the day, and the island has around 30 beds for overnight visitors.

The visitors' centre at Church Bay is open from May to August, with minibus tours and bicycle hire available. The island is also popular with divers, who come to explore the many wrecked ships in the surrounding waters.Rathlin Island's dialect of Irish is now extinct, but was in many respects closer to Scottish Gaelic in some of its features than much of Irish, particularly the southern dialects.

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