Galgorm Collection to create Northern Ireland’s first championship links in over 100 years

Galgorm Collection unveils plans to create Northern Ireland’s first championship links golf course in over 100 years in £30m (€34.67m) investment. Credit Harry Cook

Luxury hospitality group Galgorm Collection has unveiled plans to invest more than £30 million (€34.67m) to create a new, landmark links golf course at Bellarena on Northern Ireland’s stunning north west coast.

The company, which owns and runs the championship parkland course at Galgorm Castle in Ballymena and the scenic Roe Valley course in Limavady, said its plans would create the first championship links course in Northern Ireland in over 100 years and help to cement the region’s reputation as a world-class golfing destination.

Home to 2025 Masters champion and Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland is already a renowned location for some of the world’s most iconic golf courses, and this month plays host to The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Galgorm said its plans to develop a new 18-hole links course at Bellarena – located between Portrush and Limavady within the stunning Causeway Coast and Glens area, around a 30-minute drive from the City of Derry and its adjacent airport – will help create new local jobs and act as a major catalyst for further tourism investment in the north west.

Subject to planning approval, Galgorm Collection said development of Bellarena Golf Links will start next year and open in 2029, bringing its total investment in the north west to around £65 million and creating an additional 300 jobs.

Last year, the group acquired the nearby Roe Park Resort in Limavady and Galgorm Castle Estate in Ballymena as part of a landmark £50 million investment. It is currently investing a further £22 million in the now newly-named Roe Valley Resort and its own award-winning 18-hole golf course.

Research conducted by Sporting Insights for Tourism Northern Ireland’s annual Golf Tourism Monitor last year showed the golfing sector’s value had risen by almost 66 per cent since 2019, when The 148th Open was held at Royal Portrush.

Its value has also more than doubled in the past decade, from £33.2 million in 2014. On average, golfers spend around nine days on their visit to Northern Ireland, playing five rounds on different courses during their stay.

Galgorm Collection managing director, Colin Johnston, said: “Our exciting plans to develop a new 18-hole links golf course at Bellarena on Northern Ireland’s stunning north west coast will deliver a once-in-a-generation opportunity to drive a new era of golfing and tourism success that will amplify our outstanding and award-winning credentials while also creating hundreds of jobs.

Preparatory work is already well under way that could pave the way for development from next year before we welcome our first guests in 2029. We look forward to consulting widely on our plans and engaging stakeholders at every level to ensure collective, shared success for the local community, the north west region and Northern Ireland as a whole.”

Bellarena – derived from the French word for ‘beautiful’ and Latin for ‘sand’ – is a small townland on the coastal road between Limavady and Coleraine within the Causeway Coast and Glens District Council area and is located close to the main railway line between Belfast and Derry.